Weekend Box Office Report: ‘The Accountant’ Crunches the Numbers in First Place

The trend of more adult-oriented films commanding the box office continued this week with the success of The Accountant, which effortlessly snagged the number one spot. But like The Girl on the Train and The Magnificent Seven before it, Ben Affleck’s latest was strong without being enormous, meaning that word of mouth in the weeks ahead will prove vital to it being a proper hit.

Film

Weekend

Per Screen

1

The Accountant

$24,715,000

$7,417

$24,715,000

2

Kevin Hart: What Now?

$11,984,000

$4,669

$11,984,000

3

The Girl on the Train

$11,974,000 (-51.2)

$3,695

$46,558,000

4

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children

$8,900,000 (-41.2)

$2,321

$65,832,000

5

Deepwater Horizon

$6,350,000 (-44.9)

$1,866

$49,335,000

6

Storks

$5,600,000 (-32.5)

$1,826

$59,144,000

7

The Magnificent Seven

$5,200,000 (-42.3)

$1,620

$84,827,000

8

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life

$4,250,000 (-38.2)

$1,506

$13,760,000

9

Sully

$2,960,000 (-40.9)

$1,339

$118,371,000

10

The Birth of a Nation

$2,715,000 (-61.2)

$1,290

$12,243,000

The Accountant opened with $24 million, the kind of number that proves that Affleck remains a draw even when he’s not wearing a Batman suit (and when he’s not behind the camera). The film reportedly cost $44 million, making it the kind of modestly budgeted thriller that Hollywood rarely makes these days. Even if it takes a drop next week, it’s already well on its way to making a profit. Anything above $70 million or so should be considered fairly successful for this one. Next weekend will be vital to seeing how this one shakes out.

At the time of this writing, second and third place are almost too close to call, with Kevin Hart: What Now? and The Girl on the Train both battling it out. At the moment, the former has the lead by an estimated $10,000. An $11 million opening is a great start for your average concert film — especially one that cost less than $10 million to make — but it’s a bit on the low side for Hart, who has commanded massive box office in recent years. Still, the better comparison here may be his previous concert film, Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, which opened to similar numbers back in 2013. This was never going to do Ride Along numbers.

In (tentative) third place, The Girl on the Train dropped 51% in its second weekend, grossing $11 million for a $46 million total. The Emily Blunt thriller should ultimately turn a profit, but anyone hoping for some of that giant Gone Girl box office will need to look elsewhere. At this rate, it should top out around $70 million or so, a number that isn’t shabby at all for a film with a $45 million budget.

Meanwhile, outside of the top 10, the dumped Max Steel only made $2 million. It should vanish from the planet entirely by next week.

The rest of the chart this weekend is dominated almost entirely by near misses. Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children continued to stumble, grossing $8 million for a $65 million total, with that coveted $100 million mark still far out of reach. Deepwater Horizon also struggled, only grossing $6 million for a $49 million total. Storks continued to flounder in in sixth place. The Birth of a Nation plummeted 61% and with only $12 million in the bank, the controversial Sundance release won’t even match the $17.5 million Fox Searchlight spent on it out of Sundance.

Still, older crowds continued to show their strength, with Sullynearing $120 million and The Magnificent Seven inching toward $100 million. In a year dominated by high-profile and expensive flops, these mid-budget dramas, thrillers, and action movies are starting to feel like a far safer bet.